Funeral
by SnickieFics
Summary: He's gone for good. They have to move on. Oneshot I wrote as Summer Santa for Cyanide6.


It was a clear, sunny Thursday when _it_ happened, the tragedy of tragedies which led to this day, a cold dreary Monday. Nine high-school students were gathered around a small plot of land not far from the academy, each with black umbrellas, which were folded up at that moment because it wasn't raining, though the sky whispered threats of it. Besides this, it was a rather colorful group, perhaps because Yumi didn't have enough black clothing to lend to everyone, perhaps because they still had class that evening and didn't want to change into their formal wear, especially if it was going to get rained on.

They were standing in a circle around a freshly-dug mound of dirt, and next to it, a small, flat, blank stone which had yet to have a name carved on it. A few shovels were stacked in a small pile nearby, there for their users to retrieve and return when the time was right.

"Ahem," began one student, a skinny boy wearing round glasses and a brick-colored T-shirt. His blond hair hung down in his face, and he brushed it back, but it just fell back in place.

"Go on, Jérémie," Aelita whispered encouragingly, her arm around his waist.

The boy nodded, and raised his head to indicate he was about to speak. "We are gathered here today to remember a very dear friend, one which we've all shared many adventures with and has left an imprint on everybody's lives here." He bowed his head. "If anybody wants to share how he's affected your own life, please do so."

The group remained silent for a few minutes. Then Yumi spoke.

"He was a strange one. I could never really figure him out, but he's always tried to be there for me. For all of us. He's thrown me in for a scare so many times, but each time, it turned out okay." She paused, and then nodded. "I'll miss him."

Jérémie nodded. "Thanks, Yumi. Anyone else?"

"He was an obstacle to my life so many times while I was...ill...," began William, "but at the same time, something of a savior, too. He was a key instrument in destroying...that virus, and without him, I don't think I'd've ever fully recovered after all of that. He was a reminder to me that even through adversity and change, there's still light at the end of the tunnel, and I thank him for that."

Silence prevailed for a few minutes. Then another voice piped in.

"He was so cool!" said a tall dark-skinned girl wearing grey, and she smiled widely. "I still remember that time he helped me at Yumi's party and being all DJ and stuff." She then frowned, and her red streaks seemed to start fading into the rest of her brown hair as it started to drizzle. "I wish we could do that again."

"Yeah!" Hiroki copied. "He was the coolest ever! Much cooler than Yumi." He smirked and elbowed Yumi.

"Hiroki!" she growled. He stopped and tried to act calm.

The rain began to pick up into a heavier downfall, but nobody seemed to care enough to put up their umbrellas. Other than the sound of water hitting the ground, there was silence again for awhile. Finally, Ulrich spoke up.

"It wasn't always fun having to live with him for four years, but... he was a great friend. I'll miss him." With that, he closed his eyes resignedly, preferring to keep specific stories to himself. There may have been tears on his face, but it could have been the rain.

"I remember how Jérémie went to great lengths just to get me to notice him. I wish I had listened to him." Taelia, the guest who had not been invited but had nevertheless shown up, nodded once and drew her lavender jacket more closely around herself.

The rain began to slow down then until it became a light, steady drip. Everybody's hair was soaking wet at this point, and nobody made a move to wring it out.

"Well..." began another voice, Sissi's. "He always made class a lot more fun than the teachers could have done on their own, and I'm glad I was able to convince my father to let us use him in class, too. I also remember that time with the Internet dating thing. That was so weird, it was seeing like a part of him I never would have thought existed. That he could be..." She stopped, unable to find the right words.

Aelita put her free hand on Sissi's shoulder. "We understand, Sissi." Sissi nodded and stepped back slightly.

"I think he had the most impact on me as a person," began Aelita. "He was there from day one. He helped me talk to Jérémie and helped Jérémie talk to me, even when it seemed we were worlds away from each other. He encouraged me to become the person I am today, that life is about more than programs and computers and math. That life is musical and colorful and wonderful. I'll never forget our times together, and I hope I'll never forget the lessons he's taught me about everything, and that his legacy will live on even though he's gone." Throughout the entire speech, she had managed to keep a calm façade, but at the very end, the tears started rolling down her eyes. Nobody except Jérémie seemed to notice or care, though; crying was expected at occasions such as these, and people's faces were already wet from the rain.

Jérémie squeezed the pinkette's shoulders with one arm, and then began his own eulogy. "I...don't really know what there is to say other than what's already been said by everyone else here. I guess I could talk about my experiences with him, how he was frustrating yet diligent in his duties, or how at peace he seemed to be when he knew he was dying, but..."

Aelita gave him another encouraging squeeze.

"...He... he was just such a great friend. I don't know what I'll do without him," he concluded. It was rather cliché, but there were no other words he could have used to convey what he was feeling without revealing too much about their adventures as Lyoko warriors. Yumi, William, Aelita, and Ulrich understood.

One by one, as Jérémie began to smooth the dirt over the grave with his shovel, the kids started to slowly leave, until only Jérémie and the other four present Lyoko warriors were there. Finally, Jérémie picked up the stone and dropped it on top of the mound of dirt. Aelita placed a single violet next to it. And the five kids turned and slowly walked away.

"I have to get to class now," William said after a short while. "See you later."

A short, quiet chorus of "goodbye"s saw him off, and the four were left to themselves, standing quietly in the rain.

"Hey guys! So how'd it go?" The purple-clad blond had appeared from the nearest street corner with a large purple umbrella.

"Oh, hi, Odd," said Jérémie. "The funeral went surprisingly well, considered who all had shown up for it. How was detention?"

"Boring, as usual. Who showed up?"

"Sissi, Hiroki, Taelia, Sam..."

"Sam was there and I missed her? Darn it!" He frowned. "Well, I guess that's what I get for flinging rolls at lunch."

"Well anyway, did anybody think it was strange that you were having a funeral for your laptop? I mean, it's kind of silly, even for me," Odd grinned.

"They all went along with it," said Ulrich.

"They did?"

"Mmhm."

"Wow! People at this school are crazier than I thought." Odd's face crawled into a much wider grin that before. "I like that."

"Come on," said Yumi. "Let's go get some ice cream while we're out."

Together, the five original Lyoko warriors walked under Odd's giant purple umbrella to the ice cream parlor, stepping into a new era of their lives. One which didn't include a laptop named Waldo (after the genius who had indirectly caused it to be needed) that had to be compatible with a supercomputer.


End file.
